Have I Gone Vintage

cover photo by photo by rachel friedman

My two addictions battle it out for my dollars

I recently closed out one of my storage units. It has been a devoted house for much of which does not fit into my small San Francisco apartment, but I refuse to let go of. Among the countless boxes of things that would go to Goodwill, I found a few treasures.

How old is that film?

I uncovered 2 of my old film cameras, one of which had not had a roll of film in it since High School and I was pretty sure did not work. As a bonus, I found 6 rolls of film, 5 color 1 black and white, most likely way past expired. None of this deterred me. I had a trip planned to Seattle with a family session scheduled while there. I figured it would be a great opportunity to test out the old gear and if nothing worked, no harm, no foul.

One of my favorites from the family session

Once I got the camera running, I started with the black and white. I figured if the film was damaged in any way, I may be still be able to pull off the “artistic angle” with the results. Turns out, I did not need to. I am in LOVE with the results! Of course it took some getting used to. I think I have finally broken myself from the habit of looking at the back of the camera after I hit the shutter.

I moved on to the color film next with the same exciting results. It is amazing the rush that comes when I get to rewind the film and take it to the store to be processed. It only takes 24 hours, but the anticipation of waiting to see the results is something fantastic.

Film makes even my coffee look artistic!

While I will not be moving back to film only photography in my business, it is a fun new addiction that is getting me excited about photography all over again. One that I may need to give up another addiction, coffee, to be able to pay for all the film I’m going to be developing.

So, have I gone vintage, or just hipster?